Despite incident between father and UFC, Ryan Couture knows where he wants to be

Ryan Couture (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is used to hearing three voices in his corner during fights.

For his next one, which takes place April 6 at UFC on FUEL TV 8 in Sweden against Ross Pearson (14-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC), one will be missing.

“I don’t think it will have a huge impact,” Couture told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I still have the same guys that I spend the most time with training day in and day out. How we’ve always worked the corner is depending on what’s going on in the fight, that’s who’s doing most of the talking.”

That means if Couture was striking, he’d get an earful from his coach in that department, Tim Lane. If the fight hit the mat, he’d hear from grappling guru Neil Melanson.

The third voice, though, made itself known when fists were flying. That was because it belonged to his dad, Randy Couture.

“My dad’s always sort of been the anchor, and obviously because he’s my dad and I’ve got a lifetime of listening for his voice, it’s the one that comes through loudest and clearest,” said the 30-year-old fighter.

When UFC President Dana White declared Randy Couture persona non grata after he signed a deal with Spike TV, it appeared to put Ryan in the middle of the dispute. There was immediate speculation he could suffer in the fallout.

As it turned out, though, White called Ryan as news of his dad’s defection circled and assured him that he had a place in the UFC, which had taken on many Strikeforce fighters such as he after the promotion was folded. White also made it clear that his dad wasn’t welcome.

“Not something I was expecting to have to deal with,” Ryan Couture said.

Conferring immediately after the phone call, the Coutures agreed the best thing was to stay separate on fight night. So while the UFC Hall of Famer could still corner his son, provided an overseeing athletic commission approved it, he won’t.

“At the end of the day, I know the best place for me and my career is the UFC, so there’s no reason I would ever pass up that opportunity,” Ryan Couture said. “The stuff with Dad is unfortunate, but it’s obviously not the first time they’ve been at odds, and I just want to make sure it’s clear to everyone that’s involved that that’s between them, and it’s got nothing to do with me.

“I just want to fight, and the UFC’s where I want to do it. So whatever I have to do to make that happen and give myself a chance to succeed there is what I’m going to do.”

Although he won’t hear that voice when he fights Pearson inside Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, he said his training for the bout won’t change much.

“All the work was put in before that happened,” Ryan Couture said. “So as long as I prepare properly, and Dad’s still going to be every bit as involved as he ever has been, there’s no reason fight night will be any different.”

Even before the dispute between his father and the UFC, Ryan Couture’s name didn’t win him any easy fights. In his past three outings, he took on three fighters with twice his experience. One of them, K.J. Noons, was even a onetime welterweight title challenger. He won each bout, though his decision over Noons at Strikeforce’s final event was controversial.

Pearson, who most recently knocked out George Sotiropoulos at UFC on FX 6, is another steep step up. But the younger Couture doesn’t want it any different.

“The preparation that we’ve had for the last few opponents will carry over to this one,” he said. “He’s a guy that I’ve paid attention to since he came onto the scene in the UFC, and I’ve always thought highly of him. So it’s another tough opponent that I’m excited to test myself against.

“I think I just have a style, and even the way I talk about the sport, that’s going to paint me as an underdog, no matter who I’m matched up against. I come off as the underdog type. It motivates me and helps me put in the hard work at the gym.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.